Mills writes, "While many countries have significant and growing natural cosmetics and toiletries markets, China and Japan represent two markets of particular interest and potential.

"In 2013, the Chinese natural personal care is posting growth of almost 25%, fueled by a cultural reliance on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), increased—confidence-inspiring—transparency in product safety and health related matters, and growing affluence. TCM-based brands still dominate the market, but foreign competitors are starting to gain market share.

"With their increasing disposable income, more Chinese consumers are enjoying the luxury of being more selective regarding their product choices, and consequently boosting the sales of the natural segment. Another major impetus concerns a relatively recently implemented labeling law. After being the only major market to not have personal care product labeling requirements, legislation covering cosmetics labeling was enacted in October 2009. These regulations obligate cosmetic producers to list their products’ ingredients on the package in a descending order by volume. After various health and safety scares related to cosmetics and toiletries products, the naturally positioned segment received another boost.

"Japan, while being an important market for cosmetics and toiletries, has a smaller slice of the natural personal care pie. Growing approximately 5% in 2013, the Japanese naturals market is being nourished by strong sales increases of natural shampoos, conditioners and personal cleansing products.

"Kline has just published two exciting reports covering these markets: Natural Personal Care Market: China, and Natural Personal Care Market: Japan. These are a part of a larger global program, with the data, insights, and market intelligence to be collated within the Natural Personal Care Global Market Brief, which will be published in Q4 2013.